How to Clean a Carpet at Home: Methods, Tools, and Life Hacks

Carpets of various types and shapes can transform the interior of any room. The products require special care. It can be provided by having certain skills and knowledge.

What you need to know

You can clean carpets at home folk or special chemical means. Their effectiveness depends on the degree of contamination of the products and the personal skill of the performer. It is important to choose the right compositions and brushes for cleaning carpets, to understand the sequence and subtleties of the work. The latter are subject to general rules. They include a number of requirements and recommendations.

Methods of cleaning carpets

You can combat carpet stains at home in two ways:

In the first case, a vacuum cleaner is used, in the second – brushes. Dry cleaning begins with visually dividing the surface of the products into squares according to the degree of contamination. You can go over them with a vacuum cleaner crosswise, against and in the direction of the pile. Heavily contaminated areas are treated with a vacuum cleaner at least 2 times. At least once a month, it is necessary to wash the floor under the carpet floor coverings.

During dry cleaning, products can be cleaned not only from dust, but also from unpleasant odors. To do this, sprinkle a mixture of oregano, cloves, cinnamon and baking soda on their surface and leave for 5 minutes. After this time, the herbs are collected from the surface of the carpet with a vacuum cleaner. Complex stains are removed from products mainly with chemicals.

Only dry cleaning is used when working with carpets containing linen and cotton fibers.

For heavily soiled carpets use wet method. It involves the use of chemicals with a strong effect. The choice of cleaning method depends on the composition of the carpet material. Wet cleaning cannot be used for viscose products. Only alkaline gentle products can be used with such items. They should not contain chlorine.

Wool carpets are more versatile. They can be cleaned from dirt both dry and wet. The optimal option for a product for double-sided treatment is a neutral soap solution. Wet wool carpets are recommended to be dried only in a horizontal position. Chemical agents and the wet method are categorically not suitable for cleaning jute carpets.

Among other factors influencing the choice of method and cleaning of carpets, the color of the product and the length of the pile. The regularity with which the product should be vacuumed depends on the latter value. For carpets with short pile, this is at least once every 4-5 days.

Features of cleaning carpets with hot water

People call this method steam cleaning. To combat contamination, use professional soft-action products. They allow you to return the original appearance of the products. The method is suitable for removing complex old stains from the surface of carpet products, but to carry out the work, you need a washing vacuum cleaner with heated water.

Chemicals are mixed with water, which is heated during the cleaning process. The hot mixture is sprayed onto dirty areas under high pressure. It loosens the dirt on the carpet, which is then collected with moisture by a vacuum cleaner.

The products require drying, which is difficult to do at home.

Features of dry cleaning

The work can be carried out using a regular vacuum cleaner or brushes. One of the advantages of this method is a wide selection of products with low moisture content.

Powders are most often used. They are first rubbed into the dirty areas with a brush, left for 10-15 minutes, and then removed from the surface with a vacuum cleaner.

Powder in dry cleaning can be replaced with special foam. It is applied to the carpet surface in an even layer. After the foam has penetrated deep into the pile, it is cleaned with a brush. At the final stage, dirt is removed from the carpet with a vacuum cleaner. Foams contain about 10% moisture, so the products must be dried after cleaning. The advantages of this method include simplicity. The disadvantage is the impossibility of removing dirt from the lower part of the pile.

Expensive carpets are cleaned using the dry method solvents. They have a soft effect and do not harm the pile. The work begins with cleaning the products from dust using a vacuum cleaner. After that, the pile is cleaned from dirt with a sponge soaked in solvent. The remaining dirt from the surface of the carpet is removed with a vacuum cleaner.

Tips for Drying Carpets at Home

Wet-cleaned products must be dry out. Small items are dried with a hair dryer or a fan with a warm air function. Partially damp carpets are dried with terry towels. Books are placed under them to organize natural air circulation. Carpets with medium humidity can be dried with a wet vacuum cleaner on both sides.

In high humidity conditions, you cannot do without drying in the fresh air after treatment with a washing vacuum cleaner.

Common types of dirt and folk cleaning methods

Correctly identifying the origin of stains allows you to choose the right product to remove them. tea and coffee Remove with a solution of laundry soap. Prepare it from 1 teaspoon of soap shavings and 0.5 l of warm water. Clean the stains with a brush soaked in the soap solution. Old stains Before cleaning, they are moistened with glycerin, which is kept on them for 2-3 hours.

The stains are treated with a soap solution without washing off the glycerin. It is kept on the surface for 15-20 minutes, after which it is removed from the pile with paper napkins. Chocolate and fruit stains Remove with a vinegar solution. Prepare it from 1 teaspoon of vinegar, 1 teaspoon of soap shavings and 1 liter of water.

More complex contaminants are considered to be grease and soot stains. It is better to dissolve them with turpentine. It is used to prepare a cleaning solution. It is made from 1 tablespoon of turpentine, 1 tablespoon of shavings of laundry soap and 1 liter of cool water. The solution is applied to the dirty surface with a sponge and kept on it for 5 minutes. After that, it is washed off with clean water, and the carpet is dried.

A rare type of carpet contamination is blood.

They are deleting blood with a sponge or brush soaked in a specialized industrial stain remover or hydrogen peroxide. The latter is used to soak a cotton swab and apply it to the stain for 10-15 minutes. After that, the remaining dirt is washed off with clean water.

Frequent stains on floor carpets include: urine stains pets and small children. They can be removed with a 1:9 solution of 9% vinegar and water. The stains soaked in it are sprinkled with baking soda powder and cleaned with a brush. The remaining soda is removed from the carpet surface with a vacuum cleaner.

Stains of wax, paraffin, chewing gum and plasticine on the pile must be frozen. To do this, ice is placed on them. After freezing, the dirt is scraped off the surface with a knife with a blunt blade. The remaining stains are removed with a solution prepared from 2-3 tablespoons of shavings of laundry soap and 0.5 liters of water. The same solution can be used to remove iodine and brilliant green stains from the carpet.

Paraffin and wax can be removed from the pile not only by freezing, but also by heating. Parchment or thin cotton fabric is placed on their stains. They are ironed with a minimum heated iron. During the cleaning process, the fabric or paper is changed several times.

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